Monthly Archives: January 2007

The clock hit 5pm on Thursday afternoon, and I high-tailed my way out of work. I rushed home, showered, and donned my best suit so I would be appropriately attired for the night’s festivities. Fearing the worst of L.A. traffic, I didn’t have any time to spare, so I sped off armed with a pack of RedBulls at my side. I arrived at Raz’ place by 7pm, which gave us just an hour and a half before we had to be in line for the Johnnie Walker Journey of Taste set to start at 9pm in Hollywood. From Huntington Beach, the drive is a good 54 minutes by the map, which assumes a common freeway speed of 65mph. As you can guess, this left us with only a 30 minute fudge factor if we encountered any accident or other traffic inducing road hazard on the way. As it turns out we made outstanding time. Not one ounce of traffic hindered our progress, which meant we made it to Henson Studios spot on 8pm, giving us an hour before the next tasting began.With that hour downtime, Raz and I chose to make the most of it. Between sitting on a mock stoop and chatting about the future of the 3DC, we nosed our way around the studio grounds opting for a picture or two here and there. We even got the main door bouncer (decked out in a full tuxedo) to snap two pictures of us in from of the Johnnie Walker sign, and another in front of the Chaplin studio sign. Two points of note here: 1. always make friends with security early in the night, this will help later in the night, and 2. always be aware of your surroundings. The former will be discussed later, but the latter is important now. Not being much of a film geek, but enough that I know the value of true Hollywood history, I was thoroughly enjoying just BEING at Jim Henson’s Studios. That alone is worthy of note, but more importantly, is that a bit prior to becoming Henson Studios, the same lot and studio buildings were known as Chaplin Studios. Yes, THAT Chaplin. So not only were Raz and I geeking out over Jim and his Muppet magic, but also over being in the same location where the late great Charles Chaplin worked. (Pictures should be forthcoming once Raz gets the cable he needs to download them off of his camera.)

We queued up after a small handful of other people began arriving. We didn’t need to be FIRST in line, but also didn’t wish to be last either. Turns out this strategy worked well for us, as we were ushered over to deposit our required donation, and then directed towards one of the Walker girls who was ready to check us in. No muss, no fuss, no line either! It was this point in the night were we first saw our friend Dirt (who as you will recall, we met at the WoW expo last March, and who was kind enough to put forth the invite to us and our group). I chatted up Dirt as Raz checked in, and came to find out that we had chosen the best night and time to take part in the tasting. As 3DC luck would have it, Thursday night’s 9pm ‘show’ was to be attended by members of ‘tu Ciudad’ an up and coming Latino magazine for Los Angeles. The best part being that after the tasting, ‘tu Ciudad’ would be hosting an open bar after party where the entire Johnnie Walker line would be flowing freely! I attempted to impart this knowledge on Raz, who was a bit too busy making Leroy laugh behind us to really let it sink in…

Within minutes, the velvet ropes were drawn back and we were handed our token for a drink during the cocktail gathering prior to the tasting. I really have to say this setup was a perfect idea. Each guest was limited to one drink, to ensure their palates wouldn’t be ruined prior to the tasting event, but at the same time, we were given drinks which woke up our palates and got us in the mood to taste. As Raz staked out a table for us, conveniently next to the bar, I got us both a Johnnie Black label neat (as they were only serving Black and Red label at the beginning). Sitting at the bar-height table, we continued our people watching and noted at the diversity of the crowd. There was a good mix of nationalities as well as gender and age. While the average age was probably about 26, there were indeed a few older ones who obviously were experienced tasters. The whole vibe for the night was fairly youthful though, from the music to the types of drinks being poured for the guests. I noted quite a few whisky sours, ginger-ales and whiskies, as well as typical whisky on the rocks. Very few whisky neats were seen, Raz and I being two of them. The mix of people and drinks began to give me a good idea as to what we were in for.

Before we get into the tasting proper, Dirt makes his way over to us with a friend of his whom we “have to meet”. Ian Stewart (or Stuart, not sure of the spelling, sorry lad!) is introduced to us as a gent who will be making a name in the industry. While he doesn’t have a job quite yet, word has it he is poised to be part of a reputable Speyside organization, with promises to let us in on exactly which one upon confirmation of getting the job. After a bit of chatting and learning that his father recently retired from work at the famed Cardhu distillery, we are happy to say that Ian is indeed a true friend of the 3DC! Raz had a chance to bend Ian’s ear a bit more, as we were ushered into the tasting and the two sat next to each other snarking away during the presentation. I would have been annoyed if I hadn’t immediately enjoyed Ian’s company and stories. Plus he seems to “get” whiskies like we do, which is always a good thing in my book! (By the by, he lives up in the Bay Area, so Fergus should get into contact with him for future events…).

Which brings us to the core of the event; The Johnnie Walker Journey of Taste.

We were escorted to our seats (just behind the VIP section, not a bad turn of more 3DC luck!) which were white pleather bench seats with a bench in front to act as our tasting table. Each bench was imprinted to appear like a card with the standard 5 glass tasting layout, though specific for Johnnie Walker’s products of course. As a visual aid, I was able to find a picture of the tasting setup (courtesy of Johnnie Walker’s site: http://www.journeyexperience.com/ )

From this visual alone you get the feel that the entire night was geared more towards a vibrant, edgier crowd than we are typically part of. All the seats were configured in a square with an open center for the presenter. Behind each of the quadrants were three large projection screens displaying the ‘Striding Man’ logo which Johnnie is known by. (GREAT marketing by the by! The logo is memorable, classy, and easy to reproduce on damned near anything!) Over the course of the tasting, as an introduction to each label, mini promo spots were projected with loud music and minimal narration in quick successive images and moving pictures reminiscent of the MTV style of television/commercials nowadays. Truly, Johnnie is marketing to a younger generation now. The entire atmosphere was a bit too “hip” and trendy for my tastes, but still I was impressed at the balance between trendy and the presentation of a proper tasting.

Steve, the Johnnie Walker Ambassador for our showing, began to walk us through the tasting. Note that the opinions below are my own and –not- necessarily what was presented during the show. The actual tasting and presentation was designed to point out the various odors on the nose and tastes on the palate of the different expressions and teach some of the people new to tasting how to do so (as a typical guided tasting should do)…

First up was the Johnnie Walker Black label… and then continued in order…

• Johnnie Walker Black Label — this is a perfectly drinkable blend of as many as 40 whiskies, each aged at least 12 years. At the heart of Black Label lies the 12 year old Cardhu. I was quite surprised by this expression, as I had it in my mind that ANY JW label was inferior to my beloved single malts. As blends go, this one is quite enjoyable as an everyday dram. Not exceedingly complex or refined, but as good a whisky as any blend I have enjoyed.

• Johnnie Walker Red Label — a bold combination of spicy and smoky malts (the core being Talisker), designed to be mixed. Not a complex drink by any stretch, but rather full of simple and bold flavours which will punch through any mixer of your choice to reveal a distinct whisky drink. Presented with both Pepsi and Ginger-Ale in carafes to mix with; this particular expression seemed to sit well with Raz, while I found it a bit too overstated for my palate at the time. I may need to revisit this whisky to really nail down an opinion on this. Either way, it mixes as well as John, Mark and Robbo’s “The Rich Spicy One” (which for the price point would be my choice over the Red Label).

• Johnnie Walker Green Label (a.k.a. Pure Malt) — a vatted malt whisky that consists of approximately 15 individual single malts, the core malts being Talisker, Cragganmore, Linkwood, and Caol Ila. All malts in this particular blend are aged 15 years or older. Amazingly beautiful nose on this dram. It brings a woodsy heather and cedar along with the greenness of a newly cut lawn. The nose on this is so pleasing that it could be used as a cologne or aftershave. But that’s where this dram ends. The palate is disappointing at best with a heavy iodine taste completely divergent form the woodsy nose. That being said, I’d buy a bottle just to nose, but never drink.

• Johnnie Walker Gold Label — a blend of over 15 single malts which has at its heart the very rare Clynelish malt. Served at freezing temperatures, this whisky is lost to the cold. While interesting to drink as a novelty (really, who drinks whisky like a vodka?) this is actually better warm, but not by much. As it turns out, the cold masks the inferior nose and simplicity of the whisky. A fun drink to try, but this will never become one of my staples.

• Johnnie Walker Blue Label — at the heart of Blue Label is Royal Lochnagar a malt distilled near Balmoral. Now this is what I call a complex blend of rare malts. This expression has everything a high-end blend should have: a complex palate which tells a story that lasts for a good 30 seconds, a smoothness which whispers refinement and dedication to getting the palate just right, and a viscosity which gives a slightly thick mouthfeel letting you know there is more here than water. As enjoyable as this was, I am still partial to the Midleton Very rare expression as put forth by the Jameson’s Distillery for around the same price point. I will still, however, come back to this dram a few times “just to be sure”.

At the end, Steve invited all guests to hang around and enjoy the after party put on by the good people at ‘tu Ciudad’. Well, who were we not to oblige? Gods forbid we turn down and open bar pouring Blue label! With that, we adjourned back to the cocktail area where the bar tenders were waiting, bottles in hand. After getting our initial pours, Raz and I split from Ian and walked around the place chatting and generally just enjoying ourselves. At one point well into the night, we made our way outside where we happened upon Leroy, the good gent who had taken so kindly to Raz mocking me (in the sardonic way which Raz mocks me) when we were queued up for entrance at the beginning of the night. Come to find out Leroy and Raz share the same middle name, which they bonded over for a brief time. We met Leroy’s lady (whose name escapes me, but her necklace proclaimed “Mercy”) as well as Leroy’s mother, who also seemed to be fully enjoying the drams of the night. By the end of these conversations, I think there may be another 3 people looking for us at the Whiskies of the World expo come this April! (We already know that Ian will be there assisting Steve and Dirt in some fashion.)

As the night was winding down, we found ourselves back inside since it was warmer and less crowded than earlier. We headed back to the bar for one last drink, where we discovered that the earlier announcement that they had run out of Blue was not actually the case. When we got to the bar, the tender happily poured us two last snifters of Blue with a smile on his face, almost as is he had held some back just for us. Now, I wouldn’t delude myself to think that was the case at all, but rather, that’s just how it came off. In either event it was once again good to be 3DC.

By this time, we had commandeered another table around which we held closing court. Ok, again, not really, but given that everyone we had met earlier came by and chatted with us, it kind of felt like it. To top off that feeling was watching security begin moving people out so they could clean up and go home. As they swept by our table, they looked around made eye contact with Raz and myself, nodded at us and said, “You guys are good”, and moved on, leaving us to continue our conversations and finish off our drinks. Once again, the 3DC close out a bash with only the hosts around. Remember, make friends with security at the beginning, it WILL come in handy at the end!

We did hang around a bit longer, mainly to use the restroom and to drink a bit more water (and another red bull) before heading home. Or, I should say, before heading to dinner. I was hungry, and so was Raz, plus we both had Friday off and so we recapped the evening’s events over dinner and breakfast at Norm’s. By this point I was stone cold sober, but Raz was still enjoying the lasting effects of Johnnie Walker Blue, and continued to do so well past the point when I dropped him off at his door I am sure. I made it home by 3:15am, and was dead asleep by 3:30am. A long day to be sure, but well worth the sacrifice of sleep if for nothing else than to pimp the 3DC in style once again!

It seems at every event we attend, we meet some astounding new people and this was no different. We walked away, not only richer from the experience and enjoyment of the tasting, but from the friends we made along the way. Friends, whom I am sure we’ll be seeing again soon… and that, my friends, is the way of the 3DC. It’s not the whiskies, it’s the people you meet because of the common love for life!

Slainte’
-Seamus

Update!

As promised, following are a few pictures from the Journey of Taste event:

This is Raz and I prior to queuing up for the beginning of the night. The event was held through the hallway to the right of the image:

Raz and I being geeks over the fact that this is CHAPLIN Studios!

The core portion of the evening was the guided, seated tasting in the square:

I am not fond of this picture by a long stretch, but it is the only one we have of our new friend Ian:

Well, again we’ve proven that is good to be 3DC. Dirt gave Seamus a ring. (If you don’t know who Dirt is, please read up on our Whiskies of the World trip 2006. Long story short, he’s our local Talisker rep here is SoCal.) Dirt offers us comp tickets to the Johnnie Walker Journey of Taste 2007 event. (We may still be able to get you a seat, it runs through next Friday if you’re in LA but please let Seamus know ASAP.) Seamus and I do some quick negotiating with the wives and decide on Thursday night at the second showing so we can see Dirt and thank him in personally. This, as our luck seem to always have it was a good choice indeed. As it turned out we picked the one VIP special presentation for a local Latino rag. It was “tu Ciudad” if memory serves and it does cause I got really drunk so my memory is of course right on target. This was yet another great night to be a mile marker.We start off by making uncommonly good time on the notoriously congested LA freeways, arriving a full hour ahead of time. We found the place and were directed to the parking lot. We walked around the building back to the front gate only to be told that we still had an hour and that the doorman was surprised that we just wanted to go in and wait around. This was after all Hollywood, a place where very few people seem to slow down and appreciate the ambiance of a place. We’re from behind the Orange curtain and so have different tendencies than true Los Angelinos. I mention ambiance because the venue for this event was Jim Henson Studios in West Hollywood and as if the home of Kermit, Fozzy and Beaker wasn’t enough for me at this roughly hundred year old studio lot, before Henson and another production house owned it, this was once Charlie Chaplin Studios. We don’t have much history here in So Cal that doesn’t involve either Conquistadores or Indians, but movie history we got. I’m not much for Hollywood history personally. I grew up here and have seen enough “famous” people to not really give a crap, but seriously, Kermit and Charlie Chaplin. WOW! That set me back a little bit. We went into the courtyard we were supposed to wait in, flashed a quick grin at the bouncer/doorman and hopped the velvet ropes to get to the restrooms (the one with Kermit on it just in case you were wandering. Miss Piggy is on the one for the Ladies.) and proceeded to snoop around. The doormen were all great guys by the way. Of course it didn’t hurt that Seamus and I had our best black suits on with ties to boot. We really looked respectable I guess that was so because we even got bouncers to snap a couple pictures for us around the place. After this we found some comfortable chairs on a mock stoop and waited for the unwashed masses to show up and show up they did.

After the first 20 or so people got in line we slinked up to the queue. Another couple hundred people ended up in that line before they let us all in. We waited our turn at the Walker Girls who each had a nifty little wireless computer, driver’s license scanning, survey giving, cigarette trey looking box hung at their wastes from a leather belt from their necks. At other clubs in Hollywood there’d be a little more strapping on an outfit like that, but that is another story for another time. Our favorite bouncer, whose name I never got much to my disgrace, flags us over to another area so we could pay the mandatory $5 charity donation and then were directed to one of the Walker Girls at the front of the Walker Girl line who was waiting, seemingly specifically, for us to finish with the donation part. This, as it turned out kind of forced us to be put in front of nearly (see below) everyone else who’d lined up ahead of us and making us first in line to get in. See; it pays to be nice to the bouncers, more on that later. We made some whiskey small talk with the Walker Girl checking us in and she confidently told us that “they show us how to drink whisky when we get inside”. (I momentarily didn’t have any words at that one.) At around this point in the evening we see Dirt and flag him over to exchange pleasantries which we do briefly. He shortly sees a, “long on leg – short on skirt”, young lady who seems to know him and so he dumped us like a hot potato and buzzed back further into the masses to see her. Good man Dirt and I won’t tell your wife a thing… OK I need to say that Dirt did nothing unseemly with the Leggy Dame and she left well before we did and Dirt left at the same time we did, so he’s in the clear. I don’t know if Dirt’s wife is the jealous type but I’m not taking any chances here. We like Dirt, he seems to like us and I aim to keep it that way. (As a side note; he did take the Leggy Dame and her entourage right out of line and directly into the bar leaving us back with the unwashed masses waiting in line. I should note that we did get treated very well, but I guess not as good as some. Of course as I pointed out to Seamus at the time, neither of us would have looked nearly half as good as she did in that little dress.) While signing in and making fun of Seamus for being Seamus and Dirt for being Dirt, I caught the approving chuckle of a man named Leroy just behind us in line. There will be more on Leroy later as well. From the people in line, it was fairly apparent that we were not exactly the target audience for the event as a whole. To their credit there was a great mix of people and most seemed rather relaxed. In short a younger and perhaps less sophisticated (read: not so whisky snobbish) crowd than Seamus and I would normally provide. That being said there were a few, grey hairs, in the audience with which we seemed to have shared a few similar reactions with when it came to all the little things going on that most in attendance seemed oblivious of. Things like nearly everyone drinking whisky on the rocks and other misdemeanor drinking infractions. Dirt if you read this, and I hope you do, we gotta talk man. I’m all for “to each his own” and “all is well if you are enjoying your whiskey”, but Dirt you can’t really be one of those “on the rocks” heathens are you? The rat pack died out a long time ago and with it should have died the whisky on the rocks craze, but that might just me being Seamusily judgmental.

The velvet rope was then taken down and we were let loose on the hors d’oeuvres and open cocktail bar with, Black and Red Labels in the well that served as the introduction to the event. We walked right up to the last table on the left right next to the bar set out the virtual flag on it claiming that bit of land in the name of the 3DC and Seamus sauntered on up and ordered our drinks as the less fortunate masses formed the queue behind him. He and I both had our first Johnnie Walker Scotch, in this case the Black Label. Yes, neither of us had actually every had any Johnnie Walker Scotch… ever… of any kind. I’m not sure how this happened. I’ve had well over 130 different whiskies at this point and I’m sure Seamus isn’t much below that number if not even and few above it. Well there it is. The finger foods on the food tables were healthy and tasty, but the ones carried about by the Walker Girls were to die for. I never saw the same gourmet tidbit go by twice and was impress by each one I had. We met up again with Dirt who seemed to have misplaced the leggy dame and he introduced us to a Scot named Ian, whose father is retired from the industry and they’re from Cardhu. (Another side note; Ian went to school with Robbo of JM&R. Small world isn’t it.) Ian is looking at leaving his Engineering job and getting into the Scotch industry like his old man. That’s pretty sweet if you ask me. He wouldn’t fess up to what company he was looking at, but he said he’d let us know if he gets the job. I hope he does, he is a deserving fellow and I’m glad to have met him.

We were then called into the grand room. The opening into the main part of the sound stage (cause it was a sound stage) was back by the door where we came in so we had to shuffle in behind the rest, which was another good thing. See, with the exception of the VIPs from tu Ciudad, every one was filled in “Forced Public School Bussing” style at the far end of the room back towards the door. We were put 2 rows back of the VIPs right in the center of the row. I should set the stage a little bit here. The room was large; I’d say at least 100’ X 100’ and at least 2 stories high. All the walls were curtained out black up to the last 10’ or so. The seating layout was square with 4 banks of around 6 widening rows like little ziggurats pointing together, with 4 isles each from a different corner to the center of the room. The benches we sat on were off white (leather / pleather?) with a lower table built into the back of each so the person sitting behind you had a knee high table with their drams on it. There was a card with five tumbler sized dots on it, splayed artistically off at a rising arc. The first dot had on it a tumbler with Black Label in it, the second was Red Label, the Third empty dot was for Gold Label, the forth had Green Label and the last dot for Blue Label was empty. Yes I said Blue Label. I told you this was a special night to choose. Apparently they don’t normally give out the Blue Label at these things but we are just lucky that way. Also on the wee table was ginger ail, some Pepsi, some ice and some iced water. (This wasn’t going to be like any tasting I’d been to yet.) In the center of the room was the square open area our Walker Ambassador gave his presentation from. A kind of theater in the round but more square. On the walls of the room were 12 large projection screens in banks of 3 well above our heads. They projected video on these as the show went on in between the individual tastings to introduce each label.

Ian sat with us and he and I snipped and snickered during the video presentations and had our own slightly modified tasting from the one that was going on all around us. (Sorry we left you out of all that Seamus but someone had to pay attention to the actual presentation and you were way over there on the right and the Scot was on my left. Plus you got to make fun of me for missing the Jim Murray reference as well.) I could not have wished for better seats.

I’m not going to bore you with all the details of the tasting itself. (And I was drunk so you know I actually remember the details.) Heck it’s a touring show so if you want to go, just sign up on their web site and you’ll likely get invited when they come around. I’ll just go over my impression of the spirits.

1. Black Label; Probably the best of the lot dollar for dollar. Reminded me of a Speyside, but then again, JW uses allot of Cardhu Whiskey so that is no surprise. More smokey than the others with some brine in the finish. Good medium length story. A good everyday drinker. Ian’s dad’s favorite as well with a splash of water and who am I to argue with a pedigree like Ian or his Dad has.

2. Red Label; Now they want you to mix this and to be sure as it was designed to do so it is a really good in that role. I found it good in its own right. Very strong but with good apricoty finish, just like I like. Probably the highest viscosity of the five on offer. On a cold night like we had I’d almost choose it over the Black given the option.

3. Gold. This they committed what to me is a travesty. They served it ice cold. Vodka in the freezer ice cold! This killed the nose and the taste and so really didn’t make much of an impression on me. I ordered some up later and let it warm up to room temp. It nosed pretty good, but was not a particularly memorable dram otherwise with a real short story to tell and thin. (All of which can be hidden by freezing it.)

4. Green Label; now this little dram had a nose on it. Wow, so much fun to smell. G-R-E-E-N! Not just a label color in this case. Kind of smells like cut grass, the legal kind. Rub a little on your hands and it’d be superior to any aftershave out there. That being said, it drinks pretty poorly. Chemical and or iodine on the tongue. I didn’t enjoy the drinking of it, but hey, if you ever order some when I’m around, I’d love to get a good whiff off of yours and maybe steal a drop for behind my ear.

5. Blue Label; By far the best overall of the night and at the price point it should be. A true Speyside nose with pleasant honey and fruit notes. Drinks smooth as silk if a bit thin for a cold night such as it was. Mind you after the 5 drams I’d already had I’m not entirely too sure on the above for accuracy, but I did like this dram. Seamus thought for the $140.00 price point it didn’t compare well to the Middleton Very Rare, but I’m not too sure about that for me. I was really quite impressed with this one and come Summer I may just need a wee dram of it, just to firm up my opinion of it you see? I was also nice that this particular dram was served in a snifter rather than in tumblers as was used on the other four drams. Tumblers = Bad. Don’t forget it.

After the presentation, the next not typical event occurred. Thanks to ‘tu Ciudad’ we were treated to the open bar again, this time with all five labels on the shelf. We of course went right back to the blue. Shortly after this they ran out of the Blue label so next trip I ordered Red Label in a cocktail. I asked the bar tender if they were getting any tips and he said, not really, so I gave him a couple fins. Seamus went back to the Black Label and we went out for some fresh air. Which brings me back to Leroy, he is a great guy and so is his Lady. We met up with them also getting out of the press of people inside. As it turned out while talking to his Lady it was revealed that Leroy and I share the same middle name. Well he’s never liked it and neither have I but I’ve pretty much gotten over it. See his mum named him after a famous actor and my brothers gave me the name so I’d get my ass kicked at school. His mom is also a very nice Lady and felt somehow that I’d vindicated her in her choice of middle name for her son so I, very very drunk at this point, was good with that. I stinks that I forgot her name as she was really grand to talk to. We made sure they knew about the World of Whiskies event in April and we hope they can make it. I’d love to see them again as Leroy and his mom both love a good dram and I love people like that. Well that and they laugh at my jokes and that’s all I really need from friends to feel good about myself. After that Seamus and I were dry again and so we headed back into the bar. By some miracle, the bar tender I’d tipped just a few minutes ago found some more Blue Label and cracked the bottle for us. (Note: Always tip the bar tender especially when the booze is free.) We settled into a table back by the door and watched the girls dance, (especially the facially expressive cute one Fergus should have been there to meet.) Ian found us again at this point and he was a tanked as I was, no small feat, and was trying to tell us stories about his father that we couldn’t really make heads or tails of, not because he had a Scots accent, but because he had a whisky accent at the point and I don’t think his own dad would have recognized the stories. Dirt found us just as the bouncers were herding everyone out because the party was over. They came up to us and started to move Ian out and before Dirt could say a word we looked up at our favorite doorman and said “Was’ up!” He smiled passed our table and pushed everyone else out of the room. It was just us, the DJ and the Walker Girls tearing the table cloths off the tables and cleaning up. We looked around and decided we should really go. Just like the 3DC to close a private party even after the hosts had been kicked out. It’s always good to be 3DC. Being a bit thirsty still before we left I let myself back behind the deserted bar for a couple bottles of water and came back over to the table. (You know in hind site, there were still a couple bottles of blue in a box back there, but I was too drunk to think of it at the time. Damn this drunken memory of mine!) This was when I realize exactly how entirely snorked I still was and how glad I was that Seamus had pretty much stopped drinking some time back so he could drive us home. He seemed no end of amused by me being more drunk that he was, as apparently that is not typical. I’m not sure whether to debate that one with him or not. I’ll let you guys decide. We stumbled out passed the giant Kermit the Frog statue hung on one of the buildings to Seamus’ waiting car and wound our way home through the nearly deserted LA freeways early Friday morning.